BIG number on your website and in your email

The 11 protected titles

Article 3 of the Dutch BIG Act lists the professions that require BIG registration to use the title: doctor (arts), dentist, pharmacist, healthcare psychologist, psychotherapist, remedial educationalist (orthopedagoog-generalist), physiotherapist, midwife, nurse, physician assistant and clinical technologist. Other professions, such as dietitian, speech therapist, occupational therapist and certified carer (verzorgende IG), have a protected training title under Article 34: no BIG registration and no BIG number.

The rule: name shown, BIG number next to it

Article 4a of the BIG Registration Decree requires a registered professional to make their BIG number known on request, when their name is used on their own website or their employer’s website, and under work email sent by them or in their name.

What it means for your team page

Put the BIG number next to the name and protected title, so a patient can check it in the public BIG register. Use protected titles only for people entitled to them. In home care, every nurse named on the site is covered; see home-care websites. Physiotherapy, dental and mental-health practices usually list all practitioners; see physiotherapy websites, dental websites and ggz websites.

Under work email, add the BIG number to the standard signature of every registered professional, including mail sent from a shared practice mailbox in their name. The rule does not mention social media or job ads separately, but a vacancy or blog on your own website that names a professional with their title is still a website.

Keeping it current

• Ask for the BIG number when someone joins, and look it up in the register before they appear on the site.
• Remove people within a week of leaving, including from vacancy texts and blogs.
• Check all registrations on the team page once a year.
• Someone who prefers not to be named on the website does not have to be. Without a name there is no website duty, though the number must still be given on request.

Re-registration and "niet praktiserend"

Registered professionals re-register every five years. If they do not, they are removed from the register and may then only use the title with "niet praktiserend" (not practising), under conditions. Check registrations when you update the team page.

Common mistakes

• Named nurses without BIG numbers.
• A protected title for someone not entitled to it.
• An email signature without the BIG number.
• A quality-mark logo presented as if it were a legal registration.

All points are on the printable healthcare website checklist.

This guide describes Dutch rules as we read them on 28 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Rules and regulator guidance change; check the sources, and ask your trade association or a lawyer when your situation is specific.